BRACKETS RELEASED AND VOTING BEGINS ON APRIL 25
Public lands are in the spotlight like never before. Recent administration e9orts to slash personnel, facilities and budgets at the National Park Service come even as “America’s Best Idea” draws record crowds – over 330 million visitors in 2024. It’s the perfect time to engage audiences with an event that showcases the places our country has chosen to protect.
In 2024 during National Park Week, the Parks Channel launched Parks Madness, a bracket competition to determine the Park of the Year. Fans from across the country voted for their favorites, round by round, and sent in photos from their adventures. The championship came down to two iconic parks, Yellowstone and Zion, with the world’s first national park taking the crown, 64-36%.
This year the tournament will be even bigger and more competitive, and we invite local media across the country to participate. Interested journalists, newspapers and local news stations will be given an exclusive first window to announce the opening of voting and the winners from each round. In addition, Parks Channel will provide:
- A Parks Madness branding toolkit, including “baseball card” graphics for each park
contestant, short videos and updates for each round. - Links to local stories on theparkschannel.com and parksmadness.com. Option to
distribute video stories on the Parks Channel website and streaming service. - Collaboration posts on social media.
- Access to Parks Channel talent.
- Option to include vote totals from localized polls.
Parks Madness 2025 is expanding the field beyond just national parks to include some of our most famous historical monuments, national historic trails and other iconic places. Each bracket will feature geographic variety to create more interesting matchups and drive debates. After winning handily last year, Yellowstone is taking the year o9, to shine a light on other parks that don’t get as much attention.
Parks Madness 2025 Schedule:
“Selection Sunday”: Bracket release on Friday April 25.
First Round (Round of 64): April 28 – May 4. Winners announced on Monday, May 5.
Second Round (Round of 32): May 5-8. Winners announced on Friday, May 9.
Sweet 16: May 9-11. Winners announced on Monday, May 12.
Elite Eight: May 12-15. Winners announced on Friday, May 16.
Final Four: May 16-19. Winners announced on Tuesday, May 20.
Championship Game: May 20-22. Winners announced on Friday, May 23.
For more information or to sign up as a media partner, please contact:
info@theparkschannel.com
